I write both fiction and nonfiction picture and chapter book stories, as well as books for adults. I didn’t always want to be a writer, but, once I began taking it seriously, I couldn’t stop. My dream since junior high was to be an interior designer. Eventually, I became one, specializing in what I called, “Kids’ Places,” and then kitchen and bath design. That work might seem far from writing, but organizing space and organizing thoughts on paper (or the computer), have some similarities. Descriptions of the setting in my stories come easily to me, too.

Reading was part of my training to become a writer; I’ve always been a voracious reader. When I was about five, I began by teaching myself in church because I wanted to sing the songs in our Methodist hymnal. One of the earliest picture books I remember was The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown. My brother and I often asked my mother to read it to us because we thought it was hilarious when she yawned and yawned just like the little bunny in the story. My beloved grandfather gave me Walt Disney’s Cinderella with its gorgeous illustrations. I begged to have it read to me so often that I had it memorized, fooling my grandfather into thinking I could read. In my imagination, my mother became the bad step-mother, my grandfather was the prince. I knew I would prevail because Cinderella did.

Then there was a condensed version of Johanna Spryi’s Heidi with illustrations by Erika Weihs. Years later, while hiking in the hills around my ancestral home in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, I was thrilled to see the same spring flowers and spired churches that were in the book. I ate raclette, a cheese dish like the grandfather made, and I still have the pressed edelweiss the innkeeper’s wife gave me. Whenever I visit the goats at the county fair, I always say “Hi” from Heidi.

As I grew older, my father read us Huckleberry Finn, and I immersed myself in the world of Little Women. Jo was my favorite sister, because she was so independent and not afraid to break the mold. Little did I know I would become a writer like she became. These books gave me so much.

I was a weaver, making woven garments, when I began my writing career. I wrote magazine articles about weaving techniques as well as the people involved in that profession. I enjoyed that writing so much, I volunteered at a local natural history museum, doing articles on local animals for the newsletter. I also had articles about family life in the local newspaper.

One of the biggest thrills of my life was the work I did on Keiko’s Story: A Killer Whale Goes Home, a mid-grade school and library book. Keiko, star of the movie, Free Willy, was being rehabilitated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium when I first met him. You can read more about that experience here. Occasionally, I meet young adults who have read this book, and, as a result, have decided to do work for the betterment of wild whales. There’s no greater thrill for writers than to know we’ve had a positive impact on our readers.

Fantasy is an important part of my writing, too. Since my son was small, we’ve had elves visiting the little room under our stairs. It was only natural that I would write about them. You can get acquainted with the Glimmer Glen Elves on another of my websites: www.AuntLindasCottage.com.

In addition to writing, I escape for a few hours gardening every week and feeding the birds in our backyard. I love to travel with my husband, and I always try to visit natural areas wherever I find myself. Writing has taken me to some wonderful places in my head and in the world. I can’t imagine ever stopping.